


Only You Can Fix Me

by ItsColdOutside



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Classical conditioning, F/F, Romance, Spoilers, Violence, Walk Away Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 04:40:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14887820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsColdOutside/pseuds/ItsColdOutside
Summary: SPOILERSSet during the walk away ending, Rook turns thanks to Jacob's classical conditioning and her Hudson has to deal with what that means for both of them.





	Only You Can Fix Me

Sometimes it's better just to walk away.

This didn't feel better. The sheriff and his three deputies had left behind everyone they cared about, everyone they'd sworn to protect, and all just to save their own hides. Hudson took the decision the hardest, demanding they turn back and put a permanent end to Joseph Seed.

Rook had no idea why she hadn't just put a bullet in his head while he made his grand speech. Maybe it was one death too many for her. Maybe she couldn't stand the thought of losing Hudson if she had fired, especially to one of her own bliss fuelled friends.

None of those thoughts mattered in the end though. The decision had been made, Whitehorse had ushered the three of them into a nearby car and they fled Joseph's compound. The wired and mesh walls still surrounded them as they made to leave the small island that Joseph Seed Called his own.

Rook was finding it hard to concentrate on anything. Between Whitehorse and Hudson screaming at each other and Pratt murmuring gently like a madman, it was hard to keep her mind on any one thought at a time. She closed her eyes in a desperate attempt to drown out her surroundings.

She walked away. Joseph Seed told her to walk away and she did it. One man was standing between her and liberating Hope County. One man was standing between her and giving her friends their lives and freedom back. One man she dreamed about shattering the stupid glasses of while he watched just out of sheer spite and hatred.

And she had walked away.

She regretted her choice, all things considered. She could've put a bullet in his head easily. She'd done it to countless others and her friends weren't even in danger when she'd done so. Arrows she'd fired into someone's throat alongside Jess, blowing someone's junk off with more explosives than would be needed for a small army with Sharky, having a quiet drink in honour of the fallen with Mary May. She'd let every single one of those friends down by walking away, and for what?

Of course, she knew why she'd done it. Hudson. It was always for Hudson. That's why she targeted John Seed first. It wasn't because Dutch told her to. It wasn't because she wanted to save the people of the town she called home, Falls End. It wasn't because he burned her house down. It was always about Hudson, her hardass but extremely protective superior that always brought her coffee in the morning at work, defended her from Pratt's bullshit, had her back when guys got too touchy feely at the Spread Eagle and had a strange hatred of milkshakes.

Opening her eyes, she sighed in annoyance to find that they still weren't off of Joseph Seed's stupid island. She looked around at her colleagues who were now finally sitting in silence. Whitehorse was focused purely on the road now, having finally quelled the argument with Hudson. Pratt had his head in his hands, still clearly feeling the effects of Edens Gate as he tried to come to terms with them finally leaving it all behind. And Hudson? Hudson looked more on edge than ever. She desperately wanted to turn back and save their friends.

It all felt awkward and each person in the truck knew it. Sheriff Whitehorse was the first to act on it, turning on the radio and quickly changing it away from the usual Edens Gate crap the cult members listened to. One song quickly came to an end and Hudson tutted in annoyance. Guess she liked that one. Rook wanted to keep that in mind. When the next song started playing her heart sank and her eyes widened, quickly looking to Pratt in panic.

"Shit! Turn it off! Turn it fucking off!" Pratt screamed to Whitehorse.  
"What? Why?" Sheriff asked, looking at Pratt in the mirror in confusion. The already on edge Hudson looked close to exploding before she saw Rook struggling.  
"Rook, you okay?" She asked, softly pressing her hand onto the junior deputy's shoulder.  
"Just turn it fucking off!" Pratt kept screaming. "Turn it fucking-"

The interior of the truck was deafened by the sound of a gunshot ringing out. Hudson looked towards the drivers seat to see blood splattered against the side window and the sheriffs hat fall from his head as he slumped to the side. Then she looked to the front passenger seat to see Rook holding her pistol, the bullet casing on her lap as she looked at the now deceased Whitehorse with a blank and glazed eyed gaze.

"Get out the fucking truck!" Pratt screamed, opening the door and throwing himself out. Hudson quickly did the same, confused and worried. The two scrambled to the back of the truck as Rook exited the truck swiftly, pistol still in her hand.

"What the fuck is going on?" Hudson frantically whispered to Pratt as the two looked around desperately for a weapon or somewhere to run.  
"Jacob got to her," Pratt replied. "He got in her head like he did with the Whitetails. He made her kill Eli and now she's gonna kill us!" He whispered back, watching the junior deputy's footsteps under the truck in fear of meeting the same fate as Whitehorse.

"What the fuck? Why is she doing this?" Hudson asked again. The whole situation was confusing and conflicting. Her best friend had just murdered her superior and mentor in cold blood.  
"She isn't herself. She doesn't have control. It's that fucking song! Jacob conditioned them to go fucking crazy when they hear it!"  
"Well that's just fucking great!" Hudson whispered sarcastically, slowly trying to edge her way round to the drivers door of the pickup truck.

She could see Rook on the other side of the truck when she looked under it, the deputy's feet moving closer and closer to the back where Pratt was still cowering.  
"Pratt! Come on!" Hudson tried to call as loudly as she could whilst slowly reaching up to the door handle. Slowly pulling on it and wincing at the click of the catch being released, Hudson gently pulled open the door. She was careful not to let the lifeless body of Whitehorse fall out as the door was opened, holding onto him and gently easing him onto the gravel ground.

"Wait! No! Rook! Don't, please!" She heard Pratt scream, begging for his life to no avail. As Hudson heard two more gunshots ring out and Pratt's body slump against the metal of the truck, she sprang into full speed, jumping into the truck and starting the engine. 

Rook quickly turned her attention to the drivers seat, raising her pistol to aim at the head rest before firing five times.  
"Jesus fucking Christ! Rook, it's me!" Hudson shouted over the sound of the engine. She quickly examined the headrest, panicking as she saw the five expertly aimed bullet holes that could easily have ended her life.

Rook pulled the trigger again but this time only a click came from the gun. Hudson saw her opportunity, putting the truck into first gear and slamming on the pedal to accelerate. She checked the mirror and saw Rook taking another clip from one of her pockets and load the pistol again.

"Shit! Shit shit shit!" Hudson muttered, finally gaining some speed and distance from her friend. She heard another gunshot and suddenly lost control of the truck as it swerved to the left and careered towards the metal fencing.

The crash wasn't hard but swerving to the left had left Hudson sprawled across the two front seats. Dazed and desperate, she searched the truck for anything that could be used as a weapon. She checked the mirror which was now hanging by a thread and swaying gently, seeing Rook slowly walking towards the crash with her pistol holstered at her side.

Hudson opened the glove compartment, her hopes pinned entirely on its contents. She sighed in despair as she picked up the only thing inside.  
"Fucking cultist freaks" she hissed with gritted teeth as she pulled out a copy of the book of Eden.

There was only one thing left that she could do. Jacob might've fucked with her mind but Rook was still in there somewhere. She pulled the handle to open the door and slowly exited, her hands in the air to show that she was unarmed and surrendering. Rook stopped walking a few metres from Hudson, staring at her colleague with a cold and ruthless gaze.

"Rook, I know you're in there." Hudson started, moving closer to her at the slowest pace possible. "You're stronger than this, Rook. You're better than Jacob or Faith or that fucking freak John. You don't have to be what they made you. You're my friend. We've been through so much shit together."

She kept moving towards Rook who hadn't moved a muscle. Hudson was certain she was getting somewhere with her so she kept going. "Do you remember how we met, Rook? You came waltzing into the bar, nervous as shit, ordered a beer and tried to pay for it in Canadian dollars. Mary May nearly booted your ass out but I guess nobody could resist those damn puppy dog eyes. Then a few beers later you tripped over me on the way back to the bar."

Rook didn't change her expression at all, almost staring through Hudson.  
"I helped you up, brought you back to my table, you bought me a beer with your Canadian pity money and by the end of the night we were both too shitfaced to walk and we ended up in bed together. We woke up together barely remembering what happened, called it a fun one night stand and you headed back to your place."

Hudson was now merely inches away from Rook. She could see the internal struggle in the deputy's eyes, as if the real Rook was fighting for control.  
"Then I headed to work. Sheriff wanted to introduce us to the newest member of our little crime fighting family who was naturally late as shit. Then twenty minutes you come through the door, looking like shit and with your shirt inside out. Could've shit myself laughing if I wasn't already shitting myself for sleeping with a work colleague. Then we promised not to speak of it again and we've been inseparable ever since."

She reached out and rubbed her hand against Rook's pale cheek, her thumb running across a deep cut that was scabbing over.  
"I never forgot it though, and I've been keeping those feelings down ever since, Rook" she breathed, gently leaning her forehead against Rook's. "And shit, I don't think you have either. I don't really wanna go on without you."

Hudson pressed her lips against Rook's, her hand moving from the cheek to cup the back of the woman's head, brushing past the shaved side of Rook's head and into the long brown hair at the back. She'd been hoping for this moment for a long time but not like this, not with what she had to do.

Rook's hands slowly came up to Hudson's waist as she reacted to the kiss, finally reciprocating the kiss. She didn't expect the first sober kiss they'd share to be under these circumstances. She didn't even know if it was the woman she knew that she was kissing or the woman the cult had warped her into.

As the pair kissed, tears beginning to stream down Hudson's eyes, she lowered her free hand, slowly and gently freeing the pistol from Rook's holster. She broke the kiss, looking into Rook's tear filled blue eyes. For a second Hudson was certain it was the real deputy that was looking back at her. That couldn't stop her though. This was the only way to save her.

"Love you" Hudson whispered, giving a small smile before stepping back and smacking Rook as hard as she could with the pistol. She collapsed instantly, knocked unconscious by the blow.  
"I'm so fucking sorry" she whispered to her friend before grabbing her arm and pulling Rook onto her shoulder.

It was a long walk back to anyone who could help her. She'd heard Rook and Whitehorse mention a guy named Dutch a few times and that he had a bunker on an island to the south of Joseph's little compound. It wasn't much to go on but it was something. She had no idea how long Rook would be out so she had to act fast.

She sprinted as fast as she was able and reached the island shortly before sundown.  
"Kid? Kid? You there? Haven't heard from you in a while" a voice came from a two way radio on Rook's side. Hudson quickly searched her body for it, guilty about touching her friend whilst unconscious.

She found the radio, ripping it away from Rook and spoke into it.  
"Dutch? Is that you? This is Deputy Joey Hudson. I need you to tell me where your bunker is. Something's wrong with the Junior Deputy."  
"Shit," came an exhausted reply before he spoke again. "Follow my exact damn instructions..."

Thanks to Dutch's help, Hudson was able to locate the bunker with relative ease. The bald old man was waiting at the door for her when she arrived and they quickly carried Rook through to what she guessed was a bedroom.  
"Got your cuffs on you?" He asked as Hudson gently propped Rook against the metal frame of the bed. She nodded and took them from her belt, slapping the handcuffs on each of Rook's wrists, the bed frame bolted to the floor in the middle.

"She won't be going anywhere for now," Dutch said, looking down at the woman he'd guided through this cult filled hellhole. "How's about you tell me what the fuck is going on."  
Hudson went on to explain everything. The helicopter crash, John Seed, what Jacob had done to Rook, the confrontation with Joseph Seed and Rook killing Whitehorse and Pratt.

"So you two are the only ones left then" Dutch remarked as she came to the end of her story. "Fuck."  
"Why would she do that? Why would she let her friends be co trolled by that freak?" Hudson asked, desperate to find any information about Rook to tell her what's going on.  
"Your guess is as good as mine, kid. No idea what's running through her head." He answered, slightly irritated that Hudson seemed to think he'd have all the answers.

Rook groaned, turning Hudson and Dutch's attention from each other to the woman lying on the ground as she began to stir.  
"Fuck, my head" the junior deputy moaned as she tried to pick herself up before realising her predicament. It was then that what had happened started to dawn on her.  
"Whitehorse..." She whispered, her voice distraught and panicked.

"Take it easy, Rook" Hudson said gently, kneeling down beside her friend.  
"Hudson I'm so sorry! I killed them! I swear it wasn't me, it was Jacob! He got into my head and I... and I..." Rook started to sob, her body shaking uncontrollably. "Fuck! What have I fucking done?"

Hudson wrapped her arms around Rook, rocking her slowly and gently. "I know it wasn't you, Rook" she whispered into her ear. "We can help you, okay? We can fix you and we can move on together."  
Rook looked up to her, tears freely flowing from her piercing blue eyes.  
"I don't know if I can be fixed. Hudson, you need to kill me before it happens again!" She pleads, nestling slightly into Hudson's warm embrace.

"Nobody is gonna kill you, kid" Dutch says, finally speaking after watching the two women from the side. "This kind of shit can be reversed."  
"Counterconditioning" Hudson said, still holding onto Rook like she might slip away. "See, Rook? It even has a name. We can fix you. You just have to let us."

Rook looked into Hudson's eyes, searching for any kind of hesitancy, hatred or deceit. She'd killed two of the people they were closest to right in front of Hudson. She nearly killed Hudson herself. But in the end all she could see was genuine concern for her.  
"Okay" Rook finally said, nodding a little. She trusted Hudson more than anyone else in this fucked up world. If anyone could really help her, it'd be Hudson.

"I'm gonna keep my ear to the radio. See what these fucking peggies are up to" Dutch said, excusing himself and leaving for the bunkers main room.  
"I'm glad you're okay, Rook" Hudson said, softly combing Rook's hair with her fingers.  
"I don't think either of us will ever be okay after this" Rook commented.   
For some reason Hudson couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Guess we're both fucking crazy" she said.  
"Perfect for each other then" Rook replied, looking back up into Hudson's eyes.

"Rook, do you remember-"  
"I remember."  
"Do you regret it?"  
"No."  
"Good."

Hudson brought her lips to Rook's, this time finally letting her feelings get the better of her. Rook immediately reciprocated the kiss, holding onto Hudson for dear life as they poured all of their emotion and passion into this one kiss. Rook was the one to break it as she finally came back for air, not looking away from Hudson's eyes even for a second.  
"I love you too" she whispered before pressing her lips back onto Hudson's.

"Hey, the Peggies are up to something big and-" Dutch stopped mid sentence as he examined the scene before him. The two women took a few seconds to pull apart and when they did Hudson couldn't help but smile at Dutch's piss poor timing.  
"Duty calls?" Rook asked looking up to the bald old man with an embarrassed expression.  
"Umm...yeah" he said, losing his train of thought.

Hudson nodded and quickly uncuffed Rook, placing her handcuffs back onto her belt where she usually kept them.  
"Let's get moving" she said, helping Rook to her feet.  
"You're coming too?" Rook asked, curiously following Hudson through to the armoury. "Do you know how guerrilla tactics work and shit?"  
Her questions were quickly answered when Hudson grabbed a pump action shotgun and a box of shells.

"Rook, grab that rifle" Hudson said, pointing to a freshly cleaned AK-47.  
"So no guerrilla tactics then" Dutch said as he watched the two load up.  
"I've been sat on the sidelines too long. I'm fighting and I'm not gonna be a fucking pussy about it" Hudson coldly and confidently said. "Besides, two of us together? We're a fucking two woman army."

Rook laughed as she strapped the last clip she could carry to her belt.  
"Guess the peggies don't stand a chance with us marching on them" Rook giggled.  
"Fucking right they don't" Hudson replied, a cocky grin on her face.

The two women quickly walked to the bunkers main entrance, Dutch following slowly behind.  
"Don't wait up, gramps" Hudson called as the pair exited the bunker into the night air.  
"Fucking cops..." Dutch muttered as he closed the door behind them.

"Ready for this?" Rook asked as the night breeze swept their hair to the side.  
"More than ready. Together we'll bring these fucking freaks to their knees, shit down their necks and get payback for Pratt and Whitehorse. Then we'll hit the bar, get fucked then fuck" Hudson replied.  
"Sounds like a good plan" Rook said.

"The fucking best."


End file.
